Valentine's Day and other Shenanigans
by Kyprish Prophetess
Summary: This is just a drabble, I wrote it on a dare. Read it or not, I really don't care. Seriously, though, if anyone likes this, I'll continue it.
1. Chapter 1

"What the fuck is Valentines Day?" John jumped a mile, turning to find annoyed red eyes watching him. It always struck him as funny that Karkat and Dave shared an eye color now.

"What? Why?" Karkat rolled his eyes, leaning backwards against the wall and huffing.

"Lalonde mentioned it as an Earth holiday. She seemed to think I should get you red flowers and chocolates, or something. And Strider keeps saying that I should find mistletoe. So, I'll repeat: what the fuck is this Valentines Day, and what does it have to do with various plants and candy?" John stared at him for a moment, not really comprehending.

"They said you should do… those things? Why would-" A hand covered his mouth, claws barely scratching his cheek.

"Look, just tell me, or I'll go find Jade." He was abruptly struck by how much he did _not _want his sister to hear this conversation.

"Erm… it's a holiday dedicated to love, I guess. Couples exchange gifts and stuff. Flowers and candy are popular cause it's mostly for girls… Mistletoe isn't involved, that's a Christmas thing where you kiss underneath it. Why did they tell you that?" Karkat, whose eyes had grown steadily wider as he spoke, blinked and coughed a bit awkwardly.

"Well…" He floundered for a second, biting his lip, before seeming to draw up his courage and speaking again.

"I may have developed red feeling for you, and asked for advice in human romance. How you made one quadrant so fucking complicated, I'll never know." John stared at him, finally blurting out,

"But I'm not a homosexual!" Karkat rolled his eyes.

"I still don't get that, but I know, alright? I wanted to get it off my chest, I wasn't expecting anything involving success." John opened his mouth to speak, but Karkat waved a hand to ward off his words.

"Look, just forget it, alright? I'm just gonna leave now, go keep Gamzee from killing Strider. See ya." He walked back out of the room, shoulders straight and proud. You'd never know he had just been rejected.

John sat down, hard, onto the floor, rubbing his eyes under his glasses and staring at nothing.

Karkat still _liked _him? Or, he stopped hating him and now liked him? He wasn't sure how the quadrants worked yet, but was fairly sure that 'like' and the hate he'd proposed with during the game were in separate quadrants.

Not the point! Karkat liked him, as in more than just friends or pal honchos. He wanted to do couple-y things like romantic walks and dinner and sloppy makeouts and-

Okay, he was having trouble getting his head past that last thought.

But he was straight, wasn't he? John didn't feel any different than he had before, and he'd always been straight, right? He certainly had a major crush on Liv Taylor, and she was no man.

Besides, he was supposed to marry Rose! Not that he'd ever felt anything but friendship for her, but… well, it mattered, didn't it?

Wait… Rose liked one of the other trolls… Kanaya? He was fairly sure that was right.

He liked Vriska, though! But he didn't think that was romantic, either. She didn't seem interested in much beyond friendship, despite what Dave and Karkat had both told him was flirting.

Karkat had also said to be careful, as Vriska was unstable at best, and not great at pity emotions. He'd said it quietly, glancing at Kanaya and Tavros as he spoke. John was fairly sure he didn't want to know.

Why would Karkat tell him, anyway? He even said he didn't expect it to change anything, so what was the point?

He was so busy puzzling over this he missed when Dave entered the room. Dave seemed to have missed him as well, as he nearly tripped over his extended legs.

"Jeez, what the- John? Dude, sitting on the floor is a great way to catch a cold. Not cool, getting covered in snot and sweat." He paused, peering at him through the thick shades.

"What's up? You're not your normal derpy self." he settled onto the floor next to him, wincing at the chill. John noticed now how cold it was, but didn't move.

"Um… Karkat said he liked me." Dave didn't seem to react, but it was hard to tell. John wished he wasn't so obsessed with the shades, though it was nice that he appreciated his gift.

"And what? He didn't do it well? You broke his alien heart? Or pump organ, whatever they call it." John stared at him.

"You knew, didn't you? He said you mentioned mistletoe for some reason…" He was met by a grin.

"Yeah. He didn't do that, did he?" John shook his head.

"Egbert, if the grumpiest asshole in the universe asks me and Lalonde for advice, dude's seriously fucked up. So yeah, I helped a bit. Doesn't seem to have helped, unless sitting on the floor is some troll mating ritual." He stopped, looking a bit thoughtful.

"No! I mean, yeah, I turned him down. He said he'd been expecting it, cause I already said I'm not a homosexual… but I don't understand why?" He saw the blank stare from Dave and winced.

"If you're fishing for some kind of compliment, just tell me. I'm full of them. It'll be praise city up in here." John chuckled a bit; he couldn't help it, Dave could just be so funny!

"Not that! I don't get why he would say it. If he already knew the answer, why bother?" Dave leaned back a bit, frowning.

"Keeping secrets ain't fun, John. He's probably tired of 'em, if the blood thing is true. Or, he could've been hoping you'll change your mind someday."

"But that doesn't happen! Sexuality doesn't change… does it?" Dave shrugged, standing back up.

"Who knows? Never mind, I'll bet Lalonde would. And besides, how sure are you about being gay?" John blinked at him. Dave grinned a bit.

"Think on it. I'm gonna go annoy Gamzee." Dave wandered back out, and John stayed on the floor.

He didn't move again for a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Eventually, he had to get up, and wandered aimlessly through the halls, eventually getting to his room and falling onto the bed.

Karkat had said he liked him, or was flushed, or whatever, but didn't want him to say it back?

Or was he just so self-defeating that he'd given up before it even began?

He rolled onto his back, staring at one of the posters he'd tacked up, but not seeing it.

What about Dave? He didn't seem to think John knew what he was, sexually speaking. Could he be wrong about that? No, he liked Liv Taylor, he liked girls…

Or did he? Actresses were one thing, but, if he was honest with himself, he'd never had feelings for any of the girls he knew. Not even Rose, who he was supposedly going to have to marry. Nobody else seemed bothered by that, though, so maybe it didn't matter?

_Ugh! _He threw an arm over his face. Why was this so confusing?

"Stupid Karkat, getting me all messed up…" But it wasn't really his fault, he'd said he didn't want anything…

And he'd come back to the beginning again. This was getting nowhere.

He considered asking someone about the whole situation, before disregarding it entirely. It was embarrassing enough that Dave knew. Besides, he needed to figure it out himself.

So… Karkat. What did he think of him?

He was grumpy. All the time. And he swore a lot.

John frowned. That wasn't helpful.

Well, he cared about his friends. But he blamed himself for everything they did wrong, even if there was no way he could have stopped it. The only thing he hadn't taken credit for was the mess-up in the kids' session, and even then he said he'd given their universe cancer, causing most of the problems.

So, self-sacrificing? He hated himself as well, as he often said. Lower self-esteem than Tavros, though he didn't allow other to beat on him.

He was strong, and fast too, John had found out, when Dave had thrown something at him. He'd caught it and whipped whatever it had been back, denting the wall and making whatever it was a no longer is. Even the other trolls had been surprised.

Rose had said he probably had held back lately because he found it hard to hurt actual friends instead of enemies, and that was why he'd been freaking out with Gamzee and all. Nobody had wanted to point out he'd just tried to kill Dave via random projectile.

Okay, how was this helpful? He just knew he felt friendship for the guy!

Karkat was… well, he couldn't find a better way to say it. He was handsome, in a sharp kind of way. John really wanted to run his fingers through that thick hair and around the horns, simply to feel.

Was that normal?

Probably not… But the trolls were interesting! He wondered things about all of them… but that hair and horns urge was only with Karkat. So, not normal. But gay?

He scowled, rubbing at his eyes in annoyance. This was not helpful!

He tried again, thinking about feelings. This was so girlish…

Karkat made him feel… happy, first off. Even when he was angry, he liked being around him. He also felt warm, like the sun had been placed in his chest.

Even now, all he wanted to do was find Karkat, grab him, and… that's where his mind stopped, unsure. Watch movies? Kiss him? Both?

He thought a bit, than, slowly, nodded to himself.

Both.

Well… that was that, right? He liked Karkat. Odd as it seemed, he really liked him. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense in his mind, and he sat up, determined to tell him as soon as possible.

Was _this _why Karkat had come to him? To share this feeling of satisfaction and peace that came with knowing what he felt?

Really didn't matter, though. He would go tell him, and they would be a couple, and… do couple things. He hoped Karkat had a better idea of wha would change, exactly, cause nothing that crossed his mind made sense.

He started to get up, but caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall and flopped over again. It was the middle of the night; Karkat, as well as any normal person, would be asleep.

He laid down again, letting his eyes drift shut and only barely remembering to remove his glasses. He'd tell him in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

Morning dawned, bright and… well, bright. The light was shining in his eyes annoyingly, forcing him out of whatever dream he'd been enjoying before. A shame, as it had been rather nice… what he could remember if it, anyway.

He sat up, stretching and grabbing his glasses, pressing them on awkwardly. Getting out of bed, he glanced at the clock and winced at how early it was. He didn't feel tired though.

Excited, a bit terrified, hyper. But definitely not tired.

The hallways were completely empty, as most of the others [read: sane people] were still in bed, enjoying their dreams or avoiding nightmares, depending on their species.

He found himself outside of Karkat's door, and paused. Should he wait? Wake him up? What if Karkat was angry for him taking so long in deciding what he felt? Not that he'd taken very long, really…

And Karkat hadn't expected him to have feelings for him at all, so that last idea was ridiculous.

Still, he did know that Karkat had a lot of trouble sleeping. Should he wait for him to leave his room, or see if he was awake already…?

The option was taken from him as the door opened, almost hitting him in the face before he jumped back.

Karkat peered at him in confusion.

"John…? What the fuck are you doing standing outside my room?" He looked sleepy, but rested, which John hoped meant he'd gotten some sleep.

"Ah… I needed to talk to you! I didn't want to wake you up, though, so I was thinking about heading down to eat breakfast instead. I'm glad I waited!" He grinned at him, and noticed for the first time that Karkat's eyes softened, just a bit, as he did so.

"Come in here, than, unless you want everyone to hear what it is you have to say," he pulled the door open wider, allowing John inside. He peered around, as he'd never been inside before. Karkat was an especially private person.

It was similar to his room, really. Laptop (or whatever they called it, husk-something?) on the desk, movie posters all over the walls. There was even a bed in the corner, already made carefully.

"I thought you guys slept in cocoons filled with slime or something." He sat on the edge of the bed, shifting awkwardly.

"We don't have any sopor slime. Besides, these… bed things are easier to sleep in without all the daymares." He sat down in the desk chair, turning it towards him. John smiled a bit at the admission. Karkat tended to avoid admitting humans had invented anything decent.

"Now, what did you need to tell me so badly you woke up at half past too fucking early to say it?"

He shifted a bit again, before peering at Karkat carefully.

"You told me yesterday you liked me. Or flushed, whatever it was. And I… it confused me, that you would do that. I didn't understand why you would want to say it if you knew that your feelings weren't returned." He looked down at the sheets, not wanting to see Karkat's face at the moment.

"But, when I started thinking about it- okay, when Dave gave me a push in the right direction… I realized that I kinda like you too?" Oh man, this was awkward. He looked back up, to see Karkat frozen in shock in his seat, staring at him. Finally, he spoke.

"I swear, Egbert, if this is one of your stupid pranks-" John waved his hands frantically.

"No, no! I'm dead serious here! I figured it out last night, but it was really late, so I was going to wait, but I woke up early and I came to talk to you and then you were already awake…" he stopped himself before he said something stupid.

Well, stupider than that babble, anyway.

Karkat was still staring at him, though his gaze was more hopeful than angry. Good.

"You realize that would make no sense to anyone, right?" Well, hopeful and amused. Even better, really. Karkat so rarely seemed to actually be in a good mood.

"Yup! So… um…" he frowned, biting his lip.

"What now?" He twitched a bit, startled that his thoughts had been voiced, especially by someone else.

"Yeah…" Karkat stood, walking the short distance to where John was sitting, before kneeling in front of him and taking his hand, minding his claws.

"We do things slowly. It's not like there's a rush. Besides, I'll bet you're still bothered by that 'homosexual' thing, aren't you?" John nodded a bit, smiling again and squeezing the hand in his.

"Okay than! We should get breakfast!" He stood up quickly, dragging Karkat up with him, only realizing a moment later how close this made them, and taking a small step back. Karkat did as well, but didn't release his hand.

"Fine, sure, whatever. But, one thing…" John tilted his head a bit to the side, gazing at him in confusion.

"Seriously, what is a homosexual?"


End file.
